Automatic buffing machine



1956 s. BELEJACK ET AL 2,765,590

AUTOMATIC BUFFING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed NOV. 2. 1953 INVENTORjSTEP/15 BELEJACK NORMAN PEI/V6040 ct 1956 s. BELEJACK ETAL 2,765,590

AUTOMATIC BUFFING MACHINE =Filed Nov. 2, 1953 4 Sheets-Sheet s IN V ENTORS Gram/en Baamcx BY N .QMAN FEM/601.0

Oct. 9, 1956 5 BELEJACK ETAL 2,765,590

AUTOMATIC BUFFING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed NOV. 2, 1953 INVENTORFSTEPHEN Basq k y Noe/-14 fZ-INGOLD AUTOMATIC BUFFHNG MACHINE StephenBelejack, Bronx, and Norman Feingold, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignors toNational Silver Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New YorkApplication November 2, 1953, Serial No. 389,752

7 Claims. (Cl. 51-80) This invention relates to butting machines forbufling and polishing articles which are flat or substantially so andrelates more particularly to a machine for automatically polishingarticles such as knife blades, kitchen flatware and the like which willconstantly vary the surface of the work which is presented to thebuffing or polishing wheels and in one linear motion at an angle to thebuff there is effected a plurality of completely different polishingactions.

In the polishing of articles of cutlery by automatic machines it hasbeen considered necessary to constantly oscillate the articles in asubstantially straight line longitudinally of the axis of the bufiingwheels as Well as at right angles thereto since if the surface is notvaried the buffing Wheels which carry an abradant compound cause theformation of striations and scratches in the surface to be polished.

An important object of the present invention is to provide an automaticmachine which constantly varies the surface of the work relative to theperiphery of the bufiing wheels and the resulting polish is much thesame as that obtained by a hand buffer who works his surface to bepolished relative to the wheel.

Another object of the invention is to provide a continuous polishingmachine having an endless work piece conveyor which follows apredetermined but circuitous path whereby the major axes of the articlesto be polished are constantly being varied with respect to the polishingsurface of the bufiting wheel.

A further object of the invention is to provide a buffing machine havingone or a plurality of polishing stations and an endless work conveyingchain which is supported in part by a plurality of rectangularlydisposed sprockets rotating on generally vertical axes and whose path oftravel is deflected vertically by other sprockets at the severalpolishing stations, all to the end of accomplishing in an automaticmachine a high polish of uniform character normally produced only by ahand polishing operation. I

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a novel endless workpiece conveyor chain which can be deflected in two planes, One at rightangles to the other, and having improved article supporting means whichpermit the articles to be readily attached tothechain before the firstpolishing station and detached therefrom after they leave the lastpolishing station. In the polishing machine illustrated in the drawingthe articles are manually applied to the conveyor although the machinecan be substitute for the oscillatory movement of the machines of theprior art.

latent U l 2,765,590 Patented Oct. 9, 1956 In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view showing the general arrangement of the machine.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation, partially in section, of one of thepolishing assemblies.

Fig. 3 is a broken plan view, partially in section, of the polishingassembly shown in Fig. 2, the section being taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a broken section taken on line 44 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a broken section taken on line 55 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a broken section taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 7 is a broken section taken on line 7-7 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a broken elevation of a part of the conveyor assembly.

Fig. 9 is a broken section taken on line 99 of Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a broken section taken on line 10-10 of Fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is a broken section taken on line 11-11 of Fig. 2. 1

Fig 12 is a broken side elevation showing a modified machine Fig. 13shows a broken side elevation showing a machine with only one polishingstation.

Fig. 14 is a broken section taken on line 14-14 of Fig. 2.

The machine forming the first embodiment of the present inventionincludes a plurality of polishing stations, shown in plan view in Fig.1, each of which is designated by the reference numeral 10, and thearticles to be polished, indicated at 11, are successively conveyed tothe several stations by an endless conveyor chain 12 which is supportedat the corner sections of the machine by chain sprockets 13, one ofwhich, shown at 13 in the upper right-hand corner in Fig. 1, is driven.

The machine includes a frame, portions of which are illustrated, and ateach corner section the axes of the sprockets 13 are substantiallyvertical and the extent to which they deviate from the vertical will bediscussed hereinafter.

The driving sprocket 13' is keyed to a shaft 14 journalled in a bearing15 (Fig. 11) mounted on the frame. This shaft extends from a gearreduction box 16 which is suitably supported by means (not shown) forupward and downward movement (Fig. 2) because of the need for makingadjustments in the final polishing station, as well as the ohers, toaccommodate articles of varying lengths to be polished. A drive shaft 20extends from the reduction box and a bevel gear 21 is keyed to theopposite end thereof, such gear being driven by another bevel gear 22keyed to a drive shaft 23 driven by a motor (not shown).

The conveyor chain 12 is formed from a plurality of alternate links 24and 25, each of which are generally similarly formed from sheet metal.Thus, link 24 (lefthand end of Fig. 8) has a U-shaped portion 26 whoseopposed walls are spaced vertically from each other and a U-shapedportion 27 at right angles thereto, the opposed walls being horizontallyspaced from each other.

The next link 25 has a U-shaped portion whose first walls arehorizontally spaced from each other. Of these. front wall 30, whenviewed as in Fig. 8, is shaped similar to the walls in portion 27 of thepreceding link but its rear wall 31 has a greater depth and to its uppersection a plate 32 is secured by rivets 33.

Plate 32 carries a number of pins 34 which support flanged rollers 35. Aplate 36 having a forwardly offset portion 37 is secured by rivets 38 tothe lower section of wall 31. A key 41 passes through the offset portionand supports a plate 42, whose lower end 43 isoifset and Whose upper end44 is apertured to receive the forward portion 37. Thus plate 42 hasaslightly pendulous motion with respect to plate 36. A' pin 45 secureslink's'24 and 25 together and a similar pin 48 secures the next pair oflinks together. Spacing bushings '49 are mounted on all pins and are theparts of the links which are engaged by the sprocket 14. It will be seenfrom the foregoing that the conveyor chain 12 can be supported and beguided by sprockets mounted either o'n horizontal shafts or verticalshafts. The lower end 43 of plate 42 is formed with two openings 50which support a hook 51 on which the work to be polished is suspended.

Each polishing station is shown in some detail in Fig. 2. This comprisesa generally rectangular frame element 55 whose end walls support shafts56 and 57 having thrust bearing elements 58 at their ends which receivebearings 59. A pulley 62 is keyed to each shaft, the pulley being drivenby a belt 63 connected with a pulley 64 keyed to shaft 65 of motor '66.

Polishing drums 70 are keyed to each of shafts 56 and 57. The polishingsurfaces of these drums may vary depending upon the particular articleto be polished and such surfaces will be renewed from time to time.Coarse fabric may be used as the covering material for the drums. Itwill be noted in Fig. 4 that the peripheries of the two drums aresufficiently close together to engage both surfaces of the work which isrelatively thin.

Below the polishing drums there is disposed a hopper 72 having lowerwalls which slope downwardly toward a central discharge port 73 whichlatter may be connected with a suitable source of negative pressure todraw the particles of the polishing compound into a receptacle andprevent the particles from passing into the atmosphere.

Frame 55 has a rearward upper extension 74 which supports a cross arm75. At the center of this cross arm a vertical frame member 76 iscarried which is vertically adjustable by providing a slot 77 throughwhich a bolt 80 passes. A shaft 81 at the lower end of frame member 76supports a sprocket 82 for guiding conveyor chain 12 in its diagonalpath downwardly and then upwardly. This shaft further supports framemember 83 having a lateral extension 84 on each side thereof andprovided with a slot 85. A bolt passes'through this slot to secure frameextension 85 to a block 90 having a vertical threaded aperture 91 whichreceives a lead screw 92 journalled for rotative movement at its upperand lower ends in bearings 93 secured to vertical frame member 74. Ahand wheel 89 is keyed to the upper end of the lead screw to rotate thesame and thus move block 90 to an adjusted, fixed position.

It was earlier pointed out that the shafts 14 for sprockets 13 weresubstantially vertical. It will be noted from an examination of Fig. 2that shaft 14 is perpendicular to frame member 84 and that theparticular inclination of this frame member is dependant upon theadjustment of the machine for the length of article to be polished. Theshorter the article the closer will frame members 84 be to thehorizontal and shafts 14 to the vertical.

By ones referring to Fig. 6 it will be noted that frame extension 84carries a recessed trackway 94 and rollers 35 carried by each chain linkunit 25 travel on said trackway. The polishing drums exert aconsiderable downward pull on the work pieces and accordingly on theconveyor chain. The strain on the chain is reduced by providing therollers 35 on the chain link units 25 and the 'trackways on which therollers travel when the work pieces are being buffed or polished.

It is also desirable to provide trackways at the end of the machinewhere the work pieces are applicd'to the chain and thereafter removed atthe end of'the operation. This trackway, shown at 100, is horizontal andis secured to frame member 101.

Returning now to Fig. 2 it will be noted that an L- shaped frame 102 issecured to the upper end of frame extension 84 and a similar frame 103is connected with the next frame extension 104. These frames have slots105 for longitudinal adjustment and they also support a shaft 106 (Fig.carrying an idler guide sprocket 107.

It is believed that the method of using the machine of the presentinvention will be largely clear from the foregoing description. Thebulfing wheels or drums in each station engage each other with a slightpressure. The motors driving the bufiing wheels, to which the buffingcompound has been applied, and the motor driving the article conveyorare started and the operator feeds the articles to the conveyor at theright-hand end of the machine as shown in Fig. l. The number ofpolishing stations is a matter of choice although it is desirable tohave a sufiicient number to do a complete polishing or bufiing operationin one pass through the machine. The terms buffing and polishing havebeen used interchangeably although they are actually separateoperations. The machine of the present invention may be employed for anyoperation where opposed surfaces are worked on by a rotating member andif desired certain of the stations may be used for buffing and others ofthem for polishing.

In the modified arrangement of Fig. 12 the upper sprockets correspondingto the sprocket 107 of Fig. 2 are eliminated and the articles to bepolished are always suspended below the sprockets, whether it be thecorner sprockets 110 which correspond to sprockets 13 in the firstembodiment or the intermediate sprockets 111 which are journalled onhorizontal axes.

In this instance the one side of the machine is shown as having two setsof polishing drums 112 which are journalled on shafts 113 and theconveyor chain 114 may be the same as in the first embodiment withsuspension means 115 for the work 116.

The articles traverse generally the same path relative to the polishingdrums as they do in the first embodiment and this arrangement positivelyeliminates any possibility of the articles becoming fouled between thechain and any of the sprockets.

Fig. 13 shows an arrangement with a single station comprising aplurality of polishing drums on shafts 121, corner sprockets 122 and asingle lower sprocket 123 with chain 124. This arrangement is highlysatisfactory where a single pass is all that is necessary.

While three forms or embodiments of the invention have been shown anddescribed herein for illustrative purposes, and the construction andarrangement incidental to one specific application thereof have beendisclosed and discussed in detail, it is to be understood that theinvention is limited neither to the mere details or relative arrangementof parts, nor to its specific embodiments shown herein, but thatextensive deviations from the illustrated forms or embodiments of theinvention may be made without departing from the principles thereof.

What we claim is:

1. In a buffing machine, the combination of a frame, an endless conveyorchain comprising a plurality of links pivotally interconnectedalternately on two axes, one at right angles to the other and havingsuspending means for the articles to be polished, a plurality ofalternate higher and lower sprockets journalled on the frame onhorizontal axes, and a butting station disposed substantially centrallyof each lower sprocket and comprising a pair of juxtaposed, buffingdrums journalled on substantially hon'zontalaxes between which thearticles to be buffed pass me downwardly and then upwardly inclinedpath,

axes and a plurality of alternate higher and lower sprockets journalledon the frame on horizontal axes, and a butting station disposedsubstantially centrally of each lower sprocket and comprising a pair ofjuxtaposed, buffing drums journalled on substantially horizontal axesbetween which the articles to be buffed pass in a downwardly and thenupwardly inclined path, thus presenting continually varying worksurfaces to be buffed by the rollers, and means for rotating the drumsoppositely.

3. In a bufiing machine, the combination of a frame, an endless conveyorchain comprising a plurality of pivotally interconnected links andprovided with article suspending means and with rollers on alternatelinks and a plurality of alternate higher and lower sprockets journalledon the frame on generally horizontal axes, and a butting stationdisposed substantially centrally of each lower sprocket and comprising apair of juxtaposed, buffing drums journalled on substantially horizontalaxes between which the articles to be buffed pass in a downwardly andthen upwardly inclined path, thus presenting continually varying worksurfaces to be buffed by the drums, means for rotating the drumsoppositely, trackways extending between the upper and lower sprockets onwhich the rollers travel to support the chain during the polishingoperation, means for vertically adjusting the upper and lower sprockets,corner sprockets for the chain journalled at right angles to the lowersprockets and a motor for driving the chain.

4. In a batting machine, the combination of a frame, a conveyor chainhaving suspending means for the articles to be buffed, and a pluralityof alternate higher and lower sprockets journalled on horizontal axes toguide the chain through a downwardly and then upwardly inclined paths, abufiing station disposed below each lower sprocket and comprising a pairof juxtaposed, bufiing drums journalled on substantially horizontal axesbe tween which the articles pass and which present continually changingsurfaces to the drums, means for rotating the drums oppositely, rollerscarried by some of the links and trackways for supporting the rollersduring the butting operation.

5. In a buffing machine, the combination of a frame, an endless conveyorchain comprising a plurality of pairs of links pivotally connectedtogether by pivot pins disposed alternately on axes at right angles toeach other, article suspending means carried at the lower end and aroller carried at the upper end of one link in each pair, a plurality ofalternate higher and lower sprockets journalled on horizontal axes onthe frame to guide the chain through a downwardly and then upwardlyinclined path,

a buffing station disposed below each lower sprocket and comprising apair of juxtaposed, buffing drums journalled on substantially horizontalaxes between which the articles pass, which latter present continuallychanging surfaces to the wheels, means for driving the butting drumsoppositely and means for driving the chain, adjustable trackwayspositioned on each side of the lower sprocket-s for supporting therollers during the buffing operation and corner sprockets journalled onaxes at substantially right angles to the axes of the lower sprockets toguide the chain around the frame.

6. in a bufiing machine, the combination of 'a frame, a plurality ofbufiing stations mounted in spaced relation on the frame onsubstantially the same horizontal piane, each including a pair ofjuxtaposed bufling drums journalled on substantially horizontal axes, anendless conveyor chain comprising a plurality of links having articlesuspending means, sprockets journalled on the frame carrying the chainand guiding it to the several stations and a plurality of alternatehigher and lower sprockets journalled on the frame on horizontal axesfor guiding the chain downwardly to a butfing station and then upwardlytherefrom, thus presenting continually varying work surfaces to bebuffed by the drums.

7. In a buifing machine, the combination of a frame, a buffing stationmounted on the frame and including a pair of juxtaposed bufling drumsjournalled on substantially horizontal axes, an endless conveyor chaincomprisiug a plurality of links pivotally connected together by pivotpins disposed alternately at right angles to each other, said linkshaving article suspending means, sprockets journalled on the frame onsubstantially vertical axes which carry the chain and guide it to thestation and a lower sprocket journalled on the frame on a horizontalaxis for guiding the chain downwardly to a buffing station and thenupwardly therefrom, thus presenting continually varying work surfaces tobe buffed by the rollers.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,809,748 Francis June 9, 1931 2,349,578 Ellen May 23, 1944 2,626,487Janusauskas Jan. 27, 1953 2,635,394 Wing Apr. 21, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS180,918 Germany Feb. 1, 1907 435,052 France Dec. 14, 1911

